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Biomedical subjects

R Sear

Publications and source records attributed to R Sear.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Birth interval and the sex of children in a traditional African population: an evolutionary analysis.

Birth interval is a major determinant of rates of fertility, and is also a measure of parental investment in a child. In this paper the length of the birth interval in a traditional African population is analysed by sex of children. Birth intervals after the birth of a boy were significantly longer than after the birth of a girl, indicating higher parental investment in boys. However, in women of high parity, this differential disappeared. Birth intervals for women with no son were shorter than for those with at least one son. All these results are compatible with an evolutionary analysis of reproductive decision-making. First born sons have particularly high reproductive success, daughters have average reproductive success and late born sons have low reproductive success. The birth interval follows a similar trend, suggesting that longer birth intervals represent higher maternal investment in children of high reproductive potential.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Maternal mortality in a Kenyan pastoralist population.

OBJECTIVE: To measure maternal mortality among the Gabbra, a group of nomadic pastoralists living in a remote area of Kenya. METHOD: As part of a survey of 851 households, information on the number of sisters of respondents who died of pregnancy-related causes was collected and the data were used to calculate maternal mortality statistics using the sisterhood (an indirect) method. RESULTS: The maternal mortality ratio for this population was 599 deaths per 100,000 births (95% C.I. 424-775). The lifetime risk of dying around childbirth is 1 in 30, and the proportion of ever-married sisters that died under 50 years of age who died from maternal causes is 0.48 (95% C.I. 0.38-0.58). CONCLUSION: The risk of dying of maternal causes is high in this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

A summary of the results of radioisotope brain scans on a large series of patients.

The results are reported of 2830 radioisotope brain scans, the records for which have been reviewed one year after scanning over a period of ten years before CT scan facilities were available on site. Out of 766 lesions confirmed by other means 672 were detected by scanning. The majority of the space-occupying lesions that went undetected did so either because they were situated low down in the brain, e.g. small acoustic neuromas, pituitary fossa tumours and brain stem lesions, or they were astrocytomas or cystic lesions. Of 2064 cases with a negative clinical diagnosis all but 28 had negative brain scans. The high accuracy with which many types of space-occupying lesion can be excluded by this non-invasive, atraumatic technique confirms its continuing value where access to a CT scanner is limited.

Brain↗